Growing Out of the Beauty Standard

The beauty standards in Korea are quite evident: glossy-clean skin, slim-fit body, big eyes, sharp nose, V-shaped facial line, small head, and a proportional figure. However, when I asked some Taejae students about beauty standards, the answers varied significantly depending on where they lived.

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A student from California explained that there are lots of wanna-be actors, actresses, models, and influencers, so diet culture is very popular there. Having “sun-kissed” skin and being tan is very trendy since it’s mostly sunny all year round in California. Lip fillers and Botox are also normalized, not to mention prevalent cosmetic surgery.

“Women are expected to be curvy but skinny, always with clear skin, and to be white but tan at the same time” (double standards)

Another student from Canada shared her experience of being forced to fit into the norm after she moved to different areas in Canada. “Once I moved out of the big city and into a smaller town, I became painfully aware of the beauty standards in that town. White, skinny, and blonde hair. Everything I was not,” she said.

She also realized that women are expected to be curvy but skinny, always with clear skin, and to be white but tan at the same time (double standards), which she found impossible to keep up with.

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“I noticed that although conventionally beautiful people exist, the spectrum of how we consider someone beautiful is very diverse…

So, thankfully, I see almost none of the standardized beauty ideals showing up in my daily life in the Taejae residence.”

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Whenever I visit my relatives and grandparents on holidays, they keep commenting on my looks, comparing me with the pretty baby I once was.

They even unintentionally compare me with my brother, who got casted once. Although I’m not in charge of being born like this, I have been pressured to be more good-looking because I do care about what they say about my looks.

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Looking back, I had an egg-shaped facial line, big eyes, harmonious features, fair skin, and a slim body… all of which met the standards of beauty. However, I now lost most of these characteristics except for my big eyes. Since I have been judged based on how I looked when I was little, I have felt pressured to look like the 14-year-old Hyunjung before my body changed.

Photo by Louis Moon

Plus, I am surrounded by friends who complain about their appearances, got double eyelid surgeries… and even conventionally beautiful friends who talk about their insecurities. Not all of my friends believe beauty is everything, but some really do give the vibe that beauty is all they have. I try not to give weight to this outlook too much, for the fear that I might become obsessed with it.

“Taejae University is composed of very diverse people, which makes a “one-size-fits-all” logic difficult.”

Taejae University is composed of very diverse people, which makes a “one-size-fits-all” logic difficult. I noticed that although conventionally beautiful people exist, the spectrum of how we consider someone beautiful is very diverse. Every single one of us is different, and Western people who are considered good-looking from an Eastern perspective may be average. We encounter each other daily, and vice versa. So, thankfully, I see almost none of the standardized beauty ideals showing up in my daily life in the Taejae residence.

From these experiences, I realized that being yourself while maintaining a grounded vibe, keeping yourself clean, and doing what you can to brand yourself is much more important than pushing yourself to meet an unachievable standard.

The student from Canada also shared her opinion, saying, “I have learned to drown out the noise and only then have I found what I truly like and how I want to portray myself to the world.”

Photo by Louis Moon

“Beauty standards are far too diverse for anyone to keep up or pressure themselves with. Beauty is ephemeral, so don’t be obsessed with it.”

Ultimately, your freedom to define yourself comes with responsibility for your actions. Choose how you present yourself intentionally, rather than trying to meet every external beauty standard. Beauty standards are far too diverse for anyone to keep up or pressure themselves with. Beauty is ephemeral, so don’t be obsessed with it.

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Hyunjung is a third cohort student in the School of Innovation Foundations at Taejae University. She runs on friends and 5 kilometers a day.

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